Artist: Retrolust

Song: "Japanese Hot Rod" (from the CD Pump It)

Heard By: Nature, Downtown

I really liked the song; I thought it had a lot of good energy. I really liked the progression of the beat structure -- it went from half-time to double-time. They switched it back and forth, which is really good from a listener's point of view. I also like the melodic progression -- it was soft and subtle through the whole track. They're definitely electro-pop. I would say they have a similar feel to the Postal Service or something in that vein. I think that maybe the vocalist could use a little more intonation, but overall I thought [he] was really good. [If I was listening to that song] I would either be dancing or starting a creative project.

Artist: Blue Sky Blonde

Song: "Hell If I Know" (from the CD What Say You)

Heard By: Chris Turner, Cortez Hill

The bass is nice. It sounded like there was maybe a little bit of distortion and it sounded low and heavy. The guitar kind of had a serious tone to it. I like the way they dropped into the next part after the intro -- they just went into it. I didn't really like the chorus so much -- it kind of went off in a different direction. Overall, the song is pretty decent. I guess it's indie rock but a little bit harder edged. The vocals kind of reminded me of Incubus. The lyrics seemed to be about how people are kind of using him and he's not too happy about that. I could see that [song] on 94.9 or 91X.

Artist: Roxy Jones

Song: "Hola, Papi!" (from the CD Wasn't Tomorrow Horrible?)

Heard By: Jamaal Dickerson, North Park

I liked it. The intro was really good. The song kind of reminded me of the Beatles. It even sounded like Bob Marley a little bit with the background vocals. It kind of has a drifting-away feeling, like an acid trip or something. I normally don't listen to much rock; I listen to more hip-hop and reggae, but this was really good. I didn't really like it when the song got rough and he started screaming, but otherwise it was pretty unique. I picture driving down by the beach and smokin' a blunt to that song...maybe even doing some 'shrooms.